BENGALURU: The proposed 580-metre 1.1 km Sankey Road flyover over Bashyam Circle came in for heavy criticism from residents, civic activists and urban experts at a discussion organised by the Citizen for Sankey (CfS) group at Canara Union in Malleswaram.
Disapproving the idea, a mobility expert from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Prof Ashish Verma said flyovers do not solve traffic problems, they only shift the point of traffic congestion to other parts.
“Projects need comprehensive urban planning, a forecast, and agencies should develop alternative plans like the introduction of light bus, metro rail, urban rail, etc. Besides, public input should be taken before any project. And then a detailed project report (DPR) will have to be prepared, but in this case, we have missed all including the feasible study and directly gone into the DPR stage,” said Verma, adding that the public is being fooled by saying they will reach faster due to such a project.
Shaheen Shasa, the founder of Bus Prayanikara Vedike, pitched for more buses and a reduction in ticket price instead of a flyover project. “Bus carry more people. During peak hours, there are only 5,000 BMTC buses on the roads, but there are 2.75 lakh cars. Instead of the flyover, invest Rs 1,350 crore on 3,000 buses and Rs 100 crore for additional staff,” she said.
Advocate Harish Narsappa opined that the flyover is not part of the comprehensive development plan and said the project can be challenged.
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BBMP Engineer-In-Chief BS Prahlad, although insisting that the projects should go ahead, said the civic body welcomed suggestions from the public and experts. He defended the BBMP’s move for the proposed Rs 60 cr Bashyam Circle-to-Malleshwaram 18th Cross, road widening, and the Sankey Road flyover project.
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“The BBMP has been working proactively at crucial junctions like Goraguntepalya, KR Puram Silk Board and others to reduce traffic. The free flow of traffic gets affected by Bashyam Circle. Besides, there is pollution due to long traffic snarls and people get frustrated,” Prahalad said, adding, in the peak hours, if there are over 10,000 vehicles, there is a requirement for a junction improvement.